Coat



June v15, 1948. J. v. FALCON 2,443,447

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Filed May 13, 194e 2 sheets-sheet 1 i In m 'llllglllll @MAW-@MEM `)une 15, 1948. J; v, FALCQN 2,443,447

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Filed May 13, 1946 A 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mmm * @M www @ma Patented June 15, 1948 UNITED STAT-Es PATENT The.v Drybak Coppel-atlanti. Binghamton,

Application May.: 1'3,

intention relates.. tf1-.aV belt. more particliflarly to a; belt adapted: to. alter' a 'coat-pto. fit snugly against' the.' bod-y or the wearer.y

'Eheordinaryhelt used; withy a. coat' orf jacket operates by simplyy pressing .the coat relatively tightly. against theloody of tliewearer. Inf.. order to do# so, it is necessary. to= fold arrdgatherthe garment.' to reduce' its: effective' circumference; This `launchingl on gathering may oe'eurat any point in; the coat; and? may result'zin a. disorderly appearance or a localizedf-bunehirrg: which interferes .with the' movements off the wearer. Ire-addi,- tiorig. thei' comfort yof the-.coat .isdecreasedxbeeaause of..E a eonstrainingmemher fitting relativelytightly around thevbody'..

Ordinarily, belts are notk attached .to the` coat and may-be lost". During warm weather when it isn-ot .desiredito have the coat t so tightly against the body, thefree endsk of most belts-become a nuisance. This objectionable feature is'aespe'cially noticeable inzshort coats or jacketswhich may not be, closed at all during. warm: weather;

Coats for: use as hunting jackets: often have a game,.pocketv between the outer' shellIv of -the coat arielI the* linen. The ordinary belt isnot: satisfactory when. used. inv a coat? of; this ..leindi beoau'se i it holds they shell, aswell, as the liner. against: the bodyv and thereby decreasesv the space'. available for a gamevoorzet.- Abeltrtting aroundzthe body of the wearer and holding thelinerf only against thebody is' usually uncomfortable: and makesA the puttingion oa Goat a; rather awkward procedure. Sometimes an elastic insert. isv sewe i1totlf1el garment man effort to produce asnugly. fitting.;gar'i ment.y Unfortunately, thev elastic material. defteriorates rather rapidly and results in)l a. very unsatisfactory garment. This is'4 especiallyy true inhunting; coats-andthe like. which maybe frei,- quently. completely 'soakedwith.; water.-

It is; an object` ofthisin'vention toproyide a belt for a coat-Which will, adjust the etfectivesize of;A the coat .so that' it. will t; snugly against the body. of the wearer A. further object of thisinvention is to, provide a, belty Whichwill draw a coat snugly. againstthe body. ofy the wearer loutinv which thereis no constraining member ilttingv relatively tightlyl complet'ely around the wearers waist.

Itis. also an obj ect.; of: this invention to provide a belt which'will not haveits free endsl dangling from the garment whether or; not theV belt isin uses Another object of, this inventionisgto providea means fordra'wing coats with a. gamepocketin u broken.. away toshow emstruetion offtherbelt;

.Figure 3l-Lista.,verteahsectiomtaken on Imode-3 infEieure Z-nlustratmg theimamneneiiatthmem oirthe belt tatheegarmentr..

Figure v 4 is. htal section .f taken, online s mineure illus-satinata@ amuser con...

stmotiona. oi thebelt;

Figi-:feesie aneleyatiom,similartoflaule L of a; modification .offithisemventim elevationisimilartohlwe 2; of

35 theymodication; sho-mr v in flilgures.

Figure 1 illustrates. ar.Z coat;` indie-ated `,generally as; I open to. slewwlthefy limer.4 2.; and.; arm.holes.3;

tion isfnaturallyglocatedz-atf. theawaist of. the garment and. extends horizontally aerossits.` back areal, Qrdinarily theheltisattaehed .S0 thatonly the; materialfin the-,baelspanelf oi 'the coat .which u lies between l seams 5( willy .bef-drawn. together..- as

the bowls-,tightened y Howeyenthis invention. of; cours@ mayz beeanpliedrto.eitheramoe narrow orf ai wider section. In .the Aform yoi :fthainvention illustrated in. Feuwfzl; .it is.. only necessary that 5. the strapsi 6;. and-fl.` comprising. thefbeltemerge from. therlinenifaifa@ point-.far emmgh` fromthe edges-or. the coat to allow, considerable .tightening eff thabeltin ,amannerfhereinaiter deseribedi,

Referring to.=Fisure,4a.; band 81s `sewedto the liner of thefeoat betweenthellinerfz andthe 3 fabric 9. This band is sewed along its upper and lower edges at I and I I to form a tube I2 outlined by band 8 and liner 2 as shown in Figure 3. Liner 2 is slit near the ends of band 8 and the edges formed by the slit folded back'to form openings I3 and I4. The outer edge I5 at each of the slits and the ends I6 and I1 of band 8 are then sewed to the Iliner at I8 and I9. The inner edges of the liner resulting from the slits are folded back and reinforced with fabric 20 and 2I and then sewed to the liner at 22 and 23. Reinforcements 20 and 2| protect the lining material from wear occasioned by movement of straps 6 and 1.

One end of strap 6 lies between the end I1 of band 8 and edge I5 of the liner and is securely attached to those members by stitching I9 when they are sewed to the liner. Strap 'I is fastened in a similar manner at the opposite end of the band. Since these straps are attached against the band at the rear surface of the tube I2 and emerge through openings I3 and I4 at the front surface of the' tube, it is necessary that they cross somewhere between the points of attachment as is illustrated in Figure 2. As the free ends of straps 6 and I are pulled, the points of attachment are drawn toward each other and the band 8 and liner 2 between openings I3 and I4, are drawn into a series of folds. When the points of attachment are drawn together, the distance between the two flaps of the garment is thereby decreased.

Some means of securing the free ends of the straps is necessary in order to hold the points of attachment in the de-sired adjusted positions. In this invention, the band 8 is maintained in its gathered position by attaching the free ends of the straps to the liner of the coat. As illustrated in the drawings, this may be accomplished by series of buttons 24 spaced at regular intervals along the inner surface of the liner and aligned with the band 8. Straps 6 and 'I have button holes near the free ends for securing the strap with the button. It is preferred that each of the straps have a plurality of holes spaced apart the same distance as the buttons. Then when the straps are attached to the buttons nearest the edges of the garment, the straps may be held agains the liner at points intermediate openings I3 and I4 land their ends. Obviously any other suitable means could be used for securing the ends of the strap in a Xed position. If buttons are used, a band of material '25,' similar to band 8 should be sewed to the liner to reinforce it.

Often in warm weather it will not be desirable to draw the garment up so that it will fit closely to the body. Then the free ends of the straps may be attachedto the button nearest the openings I3 and I4. Thus when the b'elt is not in use it is neatly held in a concealed position where it will not interfere in any way with the movements of the wearer. If it is desirable to tighten the belt, the straps may then be attached to the selected button in the series which will pull the points of attachment on the straps closer together and decrease the effective size of the garment. The straps may be left in this position and the coat will then fit the wearer with the desired snugness Without the necessity of adjusting it every time the coat is put on. When ordinary belts are used, it is necessary to draw the belt about the body and fasten it every time the wearer uses the coat.

In many cases, such as when it is desired to show a series of folds 'across the back of the coat, the band 8 maybe attached to both the liner and the outer fabric of the coat. This may be done simply by sewing the liner, outer fabric and band.

analisi 4 together at I0 and II as the coat is assembled. Of course, the drawing effect can be obtained in the outer fabric by stitching the band to the outer fabric only. If the belt is attached to the outer fabric, it may either pass through openings in the liner and have the ends of the straps secured to .the liner similarly to the form illustrated in Figure 2, or it may pass through slits provided in the outer fabric and be attached along the outer surface of the gar-ment.

In coats provided with game pockets in the back panel it will be desirable to have the belt attached only to the liner. With such construction the outer fabric 9 is lfree to move away from the liner to form a pocket designated by numeral 26 in Figure 3 in which game might be placed. If the liner is of a soft material, it may be necessary to install a sheet (not shown) of resistant material between the outer fabric and the band or linei` to form a pocket suitable for carrying game.

A modification of this invention s illustrated in Figure 5 of the drawings. This form is similar to that described above except lthat a different manner of securing the free ends of the straps 6 vand 'I' is used. In this case, the straps 6' and 'I' are supplied with connecting means so that they may be secured to each other. In the drawings, strap I has a series of buttons 2l attached on its rear surface and strap 6 has a series of button holes 28 for connecting with the buttons of strap l. A strip of material 29 is secured at its two ends to the liner of the coat to form a loop through which the free ends of straps 6 and I may pass. Loop 29 should be located at approximately the center of the back of the coat and at the same elevation as the belt.

When it is desirable to make the coat t more snugly about the body, the ends of straps 6 and 'I' are pulled to draw the points of attachment of these straps more closely together. The straps are doubled back toward the center of the coat and one strap passed through the belt loop and then attached to the other strap. When strap 'I' is doubled back, the buttons on the rear surface then face the front of the garment where they may be conveniently engaged with strap 6. The plurality of buttons allows adjustment of the degree of tightening. Belt loop 29 holds the straps flatly against the liner of the coat so that they will not hang down below thebottom of the coat when the coat is not buttoned, and also keeps the straps in an out-of-the-way lposition where they will not catch on any objects. In this adaptation, the free ends of the straps are doubled back toward the center of the garment rather than pulled towards the edges of the coat when the belt is tightened; consequently, it is possible to extend the bandl 8 and tube I2 completely across the width of the garment.

A coat equipped with a belt of the nature described may be adjusted to fit snugly against the wearers body and thereby prevent cold air from passing between the coat and the wearer. There is no necessity for a belt extending completely around the wearers body when this belt is used, nor is any elastic material required in the construction of the garment;

A belt constructed according to this invention may be securely fastened in aV convenient, outof-the-way position when it is not being used. Unlike ordinary belts, it is not necessary to adjust the belt described every time the belt is worn. Furthermore, this invention also provides a means for holding a coat `having av game pocket in its back panel snugly against the body without reducing the capacity of the pocket.

Although the details of construction of a belt employing the concept of this invention have been described in the above specification, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not to be limited by those detailsl .but is limited only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A garment comprising an outer fabric, a liner, a compressible band attached along its sides and ends to said liner to form therewith a tube, a strap having one end attached at one end of said band and extending through said tube to emerge therefrom at the end remote from its point of attachment, a second strap having one end attached to said -band at the end remote from the point of attachment of the first mentioned strap and emerging at the end of said tube remote from its point of attachment, the entire portion of said liner between the ends of said band being gathered by pulling said straps, and means for adjustably securing the free ends of said straps to maintain the attached ends the desired distance apart, whereby the liner is secured compactly against the complete circumference of the wearer's body.

2. A garment comprising an outer fabric, a liner, a supple band attached along its sides to said liner to form therewith a tube, a strap having one end attached at one end of said tube and extending through said tube to emerge therefrom at the end remote from its point of attachment, a second strap having one end attached at the end of said tube remote from the point of attachment of said first mentioned strap and emerging at the end of said tube remote from the point of attachment of the second strap, the entire portion of said liner between the ends of said tube being puckered by pulling said straps, and means for adjustably securing the free ends of said straps to the garment to maintain the attached ends the desired distance apart, and to hold the liner closely against the wearers body completely around its circumference.

3. A garment comprising an outer fabric, -a liner, a soft band lying between said liner and outer fabric and attached along its sides to the liner to form a tube therewith, a strap having one end attached to said band and extending longitudinally through the tube to emerge through the liner at the end remote from its point of attachment, a second strap having one end attached to the band at the end remote from the point of attachment of the first strap and emerging through the liner at the end remote from its point of attachment, the entire portion of said liner between the ends of said band being pleated by pulling said straps, and means for adjustably securing the free ends to the inner surface of the liner, to hold the liner snugly against the complete circumference of the wearers body.

4. A garment belt comprising a pliant band attached along its sides to said garment to form a tube therewith, a strap attached at one end of said band and extending through said tube to emerge at the end remote from its point of attachment, a second strap attached to the band near the ypoint of lemergence of the first strap and emerging from the tube near the point of attachment of the rst strap, means for connecting the free ends of the straps together, Whereby the garment is held trimly against the complete circumference of the wearers body, and a strip attached to the garment between the points the straps emerge from the tube forming a loop through which the free ends pass for holding the straps against the garment.

5. A garment comprising an outer fabric, a lliner, a pliable band attached to said liner forming therewith a tube, a strap having one end secured to the garment at one end of said tube and extending through said tube to emerge through the liner at the opposite end of the tube, a second strap having one end secured to the garment at said opposite end -of the tube and emerging through the liner at the first mentioned end of the tube, means secured in said straps for connecting them together at various points, and a strip attached to said liner bet'ween the points the straps pass through the liner forming a loop through which the free ends of the straps may be passed to hold the straps close to the liner.

JOSEPH V. FALCON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 884,185 Mayper Apr. 7, 1908 1,251,996 Fuerst Jan, 1, 1918 2,113,911 Bjornson Apr. 12, 1938 2,292,348 Bailey Aug. 11, 1942 

